Tips for reducing water bill?

[RachelLyg]

Just that really .

We’ve got our bill down to £28 per month (2 adults and 1child) and wondering if we can get it down further. Water company estimate £35 per month for a 3 person household, so we are below average usage.

We have “drought” showers.
Switch the tap off when brushing teeth, washing face / hands.
Have a rain water tank for watering the small garden.
Have a ball thing in the toilet cistern.
Don’t put washing machine or dishwasher on until full.

Any other ideas?

Get a meter?

Thanks. We have a meter.

Aerators on taps make a huge difference.

Do you have a soak away? If you do you don’t need to pay surface water.

I’ve never heard of aerators or soak aways. I’m going to google! Thank you.

Do you pay for sewerage too?

If you do then have a look to see if you are eligible for a Non Return To Sewer allowance.

Also look at Surface Water Drainage allowance.

Is anyone disabled and uses more water than a non disabled person? In receipt of certain benefits?

Also check your meter regularly for your own piece of mind to check that there are no leaks.

Wash your cars with water from a water butt.

Don't over water your garden. It encourages shallow root growth. If you do need to water it then do it when the sun is going down otherwise most of the water will evaporate.

Thanks@MrsMoastyToasty

No one with disabilities here but I’ll look into all your other suggestions.

I think you're doing well already, does this include sewerage?
Also have you thought about trying to reduce your electricity bill too? I've tried the obvious but could do with some help still

You can contact your local water company and then can send you stuff to help reduce water usage. Some companies will even come and visit you to advice! There's also tariffs to help those on low incomes too

I think it includes sewerage- we aren’t getting an extra bill for sewerage and we don’t have a septic tank.

I don’t think we’d qualify for a low income tarif, I’m redundant but hopefully not permanently unemployed 😀. DP still working Full time. We’re just trying to be frugal but not so frugal that it’s miserable. Just not wasting money.

I’d be keen to hear electricity saving tips too @imissthesouth. Shall I start another thread?

I’ve been right through out banking, cancelled old direct debits, checked we’re on the best tariffs / cheapest suppliers.

You seem to be doing very well! I'd love to see a electricity thread

Ours is £14 a month for two adults, we have a 10kg washing machine and probably use it on average about twice a week as full as possible (we use our bath towels a couple of times instead of washing them after one use, and wash sheets every two weeks unless it’s been very hot as we always shower before bed), use the dishwasher once a day on eco mode, have quick (5 mins) showers once a day each at night, no baths as we don’t have one. I rarely water the garden tbh, wash the cars at the car wash, but this is through laziness more than anything. We don’t actually intend to use such little water, it’s just always worked out that way.

@RachelLyg

Just that really .

We’ve got our bill down to £28 per month (2 adults and 1child) and wondering if we can get it down further. Water company estimate £35 per month for a 3 person household, so we are below average usage.

We have “drought” showers.
Switch the tap off when brushing teeth, washing face / hands.
Have a rain water tank for watering the small garden.
Have a ball thing in the toilet cistern.
Don’t put washing machine or dishwasher on until full.

Any other ideas?

Don't use the dishwasher. That will save more than anything if you have already made the obvious changes.

You're doing really well to keep your water bill so low. Ours is around £45 month (2 adults, no children). We're in the south, and our water supplier is Southern Water - perhaps SW charge higher rates than your supplier.

Years ago SW installed a water meter. I didn't want one, as I knew our bills would go up - I was right, the next bill was 50% higher. We tried to cut our water use down - took shorter showers, re-used washing up water in various ways, only flushed toilet when a number 2 was involved, etc, etc. Following bill was slightly lower but still well over what it was pre meter days. I decided there and then not to worry about the water bill, because all the extra effort wasn't worth the few quid saved. For instance, we needed to bleach the toilet more often, I was constantly emptying bowls of water into buckets and carting it to other rooms or the garden, which sometimes involved splashes/spills which would then need wiping up. Also, I hated rushing my shower - I really enjoy a long shower. Plus I'm a keen gardener so that pushes the bill up in summer. So, I just accept that we use more water than some other people (apparently we use nearly as much as a 3 person household), and we have to pay for it.

We have a water butt and I re-use some washing up water for watering plants, but that's the limit of my water saving measures. If there is a drought and water reserves run low then I would do my bit to conserve the supply, but unless that happens I feel no guilt about how much I use, because no matter how much water I save here it is not going to make more water available in drought stricken parts of the world. Also, I think that if everyone reduced their consumption by 10%, that would in turn reduce the profits of the water companies by 10% - in which case they'd just increase their charges.

I read just today that 25% of our energy bill is heating hot water .

Share baths, no dishwasher just washing up, might be gross but add detergent in to left over bath water and wash cloths towels ect in that so youre oy using washing machine once a week or every other

Also as above said invest in fleece blankets stop using heating or only use it for child's room

£28 per month? I'd say you are doing well already!!

We are paying over a £1000 a year for our water rates and we live in a normal 3 bed house.

The thought of a meter does send a shiver down my spine, especially as our eldest has 30 minute showers!! No chance a meter would be any good for us.

Dishwashers use about 90% less water than washing up by hand.

Don't shower everyday, instead wash with a bowl of water and a sponge.

Collect the cold water that comes out of the shower before it gets hot and use it to flush the toilet.

Wear clothes more before washing them and wash sheets and towels less frequently so You're using your washing machine less.

Only flush the toilet if its a number 2.

@SoloMummy the dishwasher really does use less water. I had one it broke the replacement took a year my water bill went from £130 every 6 months to £190. Got a new dishwasher in the year since then the water bill each six months is back £125 as new dishwasher has an eco program that uses even less water.
The dishwasher goes on every 18 hours whereas I was washing up after each meal. We don't bath only shower so no bath water to use.
Get a massive water butt and then it can be used for all kinds of things.

Don't use the dishwasher. That will save more than anything if you have already made the obvious changes

Wrong. A dishwasher uses far less water than washing up the same amount by hand. Ours does a full load on 11 litres, which is about half a sinkful.

No way could you do that amount by hand on that amount of water, including breakfast, lunch and dinner plates and cutlery, pans and serving utensils and other bits and pieces.

Ours uses 9 on the eco setting. It tells you how much water it’s used at the end of the cycle.

Taps use 8l per minute.

We wait until both the washing machine and dishwasher are full before using them and always use the eco setting. We do a sheets and towels wash every two weeks (as someone said above) unless it’s been really hot. Also don’t wash towels after one use, they are aired well between each use and get a few uses. DP and I used to have some of our showers at the gym, which we’ve started doing again, now they’re open again.

Re clothes, they don’t all go in the wash after wearing. Underwear and sports kit do, but things like hoodies and jeans will get a couple of wears before we wash them.

We’re with united utilities. I don’t know if they are cheaper than other areas but we don’t have a big garden and most of it is paved so we don’t use much water gardening - maybe that’s why our bill is quite low, as we aren’t watering a lawn throughout the summer.

The meter was already installed when we moved in. I don’t think you can go back to rates once you have a meter.

@imissthesouth

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